by Alexa Davis
While I was dressing, I slipped off the ring on my finger and put it gently back into the velvet box it had come in. I had too much to discuss with my parents, and the ring was a conversation I felt could wait for later.
I waited nervously near terminal twelve at John F. Kennedy airport. I had been notified that the plane my parents were on was running approximately one hour late. This made me even more nervous. I knew Mother well. She did not tolerate anything that interrupted or altered her schedule in any way, unless it was her who had changed the plan. I was already dreading having to explain all of the things that were going on in my life, without anticipating her irritable mood in the mix.
As I sat waiting for the plane to come in, I thought back to the day I had left my home to start a new life in New York. Mother, Father, and I had all waited at the airport for my plane to board. It was snowing, so the flights had all been delayed, and my mother’s mood grew blacker by the hour.
She hadn’t wanted me to go; she had made that abundantly clear in the weeks leading up to my departure. She had expected to win the argument, as she usually did. For one of the first times in my life, I had stood firm, though, with my father’s support making me stronger. I was going to New York if I had to sit in that terminal all week before a plane was able to land and pick me up. I loved my mother, but the Lady Winston’s dreams of raising a daughter who would be a socialite on the arm of some rich, handsome, successful man were just that, her dreams, not mine.
Thankfully for me, Lord Winston had raised me to be strong and independent. He encouraged me to dream big and to go after those dreams with everything I had in me. If not for his steady and constant support, my mother may have won out. She was a hard woman to say no to, especially when she was in a mood.
The voice over the loudspeaker announcing that their flight had landed brought me back into the present. I pasted a smile on my face as the first class passengers began disembarking through the tunnel. I watched the crowd of people coming through, searching for my parents. I spotted my father first. When I saw him, I felt warm inside and for that second, I was his little girl again and all of my troubles were forgotten.
“Daddy!” I said, waving him in my direction. I caught a glimpse of Mother just to his right as they came toward me. My father waved back heartily, and I smiled and waved at Mother, as well. The wave I got in response was as if she were swatting at a fly. I felt my stomach tighten into a hard knot.
“Alicia!” Daddy took me into his strong arms and hugged me so tightly I nearly lost my breath. I didn’t care, though. I had seldom found anywhere in life that I felt as safe as in Daddy’s arms.
“Oh, my little girl,” he said as he held me back at arm’s length. “Let me look at you. I am so happy to see you!”
“I’m happy to see you, too, Daddy.” Looking Mother, I said, “I’m happy to see you, too, Mother. You look well.”
My mother leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. “You look tired, dear,” she said as she looked more closely at my face.
It’s funny how a person’s parents could cause them to go from successful, confident adult to an instant child that wanted to please in mere minutes. “I’m fine, Mother,” was all I said, however. “How was your flight?”
“God awful,” The Lady Winston said with a huff. “I can’t believe they dare call that first class.”
I gave her a sympathetic look, but had to stop myself from smiling when I looked at my father’s face. He rolled his eyes and had a silly smirk painted on.
“Let’s go collect your things,” I told them, taking the carry-on my mother was holding.
We all walked over to baggage claim, where Mother continued to complain about the shoddy conditions of the airlines in the States. Her complaining prompted a porter to come to our aid, and he loaded the luggage onto a dolly for us and rolled it out to the car. After we were finally loaded and in the car Mother said,
“I assume you have a lot to tell us?” It was more a statement than a question.
I sighed. “Yes, Mother, I suppose I do. Would you mind if we waited until we get to the apartment and get you both settled, though? It’s a conversation I’d really rather not have on the Turnpike.”
Before my mother could speak, my father interjected. Glancing a silent warning at Mother he said, “Of course, dear. You tell us when you’re ready. Isn’t that fine, Diane?”
I could see my mother’s face in the rearview mirror and knew my poor dad would probably pay for that later. For now, though, she said, “Of course,” with a tight-lipped smile.
The rest of the ride was spent with chit chat and gossip about folks back home that I hadn’t seen in a while. When we reached the apartment at last, Luis was there to help and he called two young men on his staff to carry my parents’ things up to the apartment. I could tell my mother at least approved of this.
Once inside, I showed them to their room so that they could freshen up after their long flight and began brewing a pot of tea. They had both told me they weren’t hungry yet, so I just fixed a platter of croissants and pastries I had gotten at the bakery in case they wanted a small snack. Taking a deep breath, and willing myself to be strong, I headed back out to the sitting room.
As I poured the tea, we again made small talk. My father told me how much he liked my apartment and how proud he was I had done so well for myself. Unfortunately, that left an opening for Mother.
“Yes, we hadn’t been concerned about you at all dear until we started reading and seeing some things that upset us this past week.”
“I know, Mother, and I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about what was going on. I just thought it would be better if we talked face to face about it all, rather than on the phone.”
Daddy reached over and took my hand for support; I smiled at him as Mother said,
“Well, we’re here now, and we’re listening.”
I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I started at the beginning. My mother raised an eyebrow or two throughout my spiel, but didn’t interrupt. When I finished, my father squeezed my hand and said,
“I’m sure you can see how this, um, situation would concern us as parents?”
“Yes, Daddy, of course I can. It concerns me, as well, trust me. But I’m telling you that as bad as it all sounds, and as stressful as it all has been, Adam is no killer. He is a kind, loving, smart, amazing man, and I can’t wait for you two to meet him.”
“Alicia,” Mother began in that even tone she usually reserved for reasoning with people she thought were in desperate need of her advice. “Have you considered what might happen if Adam is arrested?”
I opened my mouth and she stopped me by saying, “I’m not finished. Innocent people are accused of things all the time, dear, are they not? I’m just saying, what if he is arrested? Not only do you end up in a relationship with a man who is incarcerated, wrongly or not, but have you realized that if that were to be the case, your job could be lost, as well?”
“Mother, Adam is not going to be arrested. The police have no evidence to use to arrest him because there is no evidence to find. Adam was with me, in a crowded restaurant. He didn’t kill his wife, and the district attorney is not going to risk arresting a well-respected attorney for something he could never prove.”
“So,” my father began still in a cautious tone, “there still may be the problem of how all of this negative publicity is affecting his law practice. Do you have a back-up plan at least, sweetheart?”
“No, Daddy. Adam is my plan.” I got up and told them I’d be right back. Coming back into the room with the velvet box I saw my parents exchange a look.
“Adam asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” I took the ring out and placed it on my finger. “I will stick by his side no matter what, and we will figure this all out together. I want to have a strong, happy marriage like the two of you. I always admired how you were partners in everything. That’s what I want, and I know I can have with Adam. I need you two to have enough faith in me to know
that I’m smart enough to know what I am doing here.”
My parents looked at each other again. I really did admire them. They had been together so long and shared so many things in life that they almost didn’t have to speak. Their thoughts were often conveyed in looks or a touch. My mother gave an almost imperceptible nod in my father’s direction and he said, “Okay, sweetheart, we’ll trust you. Promise us you will keep us informed, though, even when we go home. And, let us know if we can help.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “I promise, Daddy, thank you!”
As I turned towards Mother, I thought I saw the slightest hint of a smile on cross her lips, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. My mother acted like she was waiting for a peck on the cheek, but when I put my arms around her neck, too, she softened for a second. Softly brushing my hair away from my face with her right hand, she put her left palm on my cheek and said, “I do hope you know what you’re doing.”
I could see the traces of tears that lined her pretty eyes. I wanted more than anything to fast-forward time to where this was all over and she could see just how happy Adam can make me.
“I do, Mother. I promise.”
CHAPTER FOUR
ADAM
When I got to the office that morning, I was let in by a uniformed officer posted at the door. I made his way to the large conference room where law enforcement seemed to have gathered and introduced myself to the detective in charge.
“Sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Mr. Hanson,” the detective told me.
“It seems that has been happening to me a lot lately,” I said with a sigh. “What happened here?”
“Well, it looks as if the thieves made their way into the building through the vents that lead from the building next door to this one. That building doesn’t have an alarm, and so breaking into it was easier. Once they got in here, they had to work pretty quickly, as the motion detectors alerted the alarm company and we had police units here in less than ten minutes.”
“Which offices did they break into?”
“We’ve checked the entire building. It seems that your main office and that of a Ms. Winston,” he said, glancing at a notepad, “were the only two where things seem to be disturbed. You can probably tell us more as you look around, however. That’s why we needed you here.”
“Okay, well, let’s get this over with.” I headed out of the conference room and across the hall to my office and the detective and uniformed officers followed me. The lock on my office door was scarred from the tools the thieves had used to force entry. I looked around as I entered the room. Papers and files were strewn across the desk and floor. The locked cabinet where I kept client case files was tipped over and had obviously been forced open. It was mostly empty. I went around to the front of my desk. The drawers had all been forced open, and the files I considered most private, mainly those involving Brigham and the oil spill case, were gone, as well.
“Damn!” I said, dropping momentarily into my desk chair. I felt like my head was going to explode. How much more was I fucking supposed to take?
“Files are missing?” the detective asked.
“Yes,” I told him. “Almost all of them. Confidential files, open cases, what a mess.” I stood up and without another word, left my office and headed down the hall to Alicia’s. Her door had been forced open and the same type of mess awaited us there.
“For specifics, you’ll have to speak with Ms. Winston,” I told the detective. “But it seems that most of her files are gone, as well.”
I glanced around the office again, this time noticing that the pictures Alicia kept on the shelf above her desk were in disarray. Upon close inspection, I realized that the pictures Alicia kept here of us together at various business functions were all laying down on their face while the others were still sitting upright and facing outward. That was odd, but I didn’t mention it to the policemen. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it felt personal and I couldn’t bear to get Alicia any more involved in this mess than she already was.
With my lead, we checked each of the other offices. They all remained locked tight, and when I used my master key to open them, it appeared as if nothing had been disturbed in any of them.
As the cops were finishing up taking my statement, people began coming in to work for the day. The police had them all wait in the lobby or the conference room until they were finished with their evidence collection. I had to explain what had happened over and over, until finally I had a massive headache and assigned the task to Marie.
When Mac arrived, he and I began the daunting task of informing clients that our confidential files had been taken and we had no way of knowing whose hands they were now in. We also had to notify the courts. I had to wonder how many of my and Alicia’s cases would just be thrown out now regardless of how well they had been going so far. When I made the call to Miles, the man was incensed.
“Do you mean to tell me that all of my personal business, including statements I have made to you behind closed doors and never meant to be public, are out there floating around somewhere with God knows who? What the hell are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know yet, Miles. I’m not even sure yet how damaging this is to any of us. I assume much of it depends on who it is that has this information now.” I was as worried about those files falling into the wrong hands as Miles was. I could feel everything I’d ever worked for slowly slipping away.
Throughout the morning as I called one pissed off client after the other, Miles kept calling back with another question and each time before I got him off the phone, he would ask, “Who the hell would do this?”
“I don’t know, Miles. I wish I did. The police are working on it, but it’s only been a few hours.”
“You know what this will do to me?”
“Of course I do,” I answered with a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry, Miles. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I’m sorry, too – sorry I trusted you. In this day and age, why wasn’t everything kept on the computer and password protected, anyways?” he asked gruffly.
“A lot of information is.” I tried to explain to him. “Unfortunately, the nature of our business requires us to take files of data into court with us. Most of that is written information. I promise you, Miles, nothing these people took can be used against you. It has lost any credibility just by virtue of leaving the office. The law cannot touch you based on anything you said in confidence to your lawyers.”
“What about the press? Are you gonna tell me that they can’t use this information to smear me more than they already have?”
When I didn’t instantly reply Miles continued, “I didn’t think you could,” and hung up the phone.
I sat there with my head in my hands for a while, letting the phone ring and knowing Marie would be picking it up on the other line and taking messages, none of which I’d be looking forward to hearing, I was sure.
I thought about Alicia. I hadn’t told her yet about what had been taken, and what kind of fallout we would be facing. I knew she would have her hands full with her parents today and I was trying to give her a break. The police needed to talk to her in order to get an inventory of what had been taken from her office, but I had been able to get them to agree to wait until tomorrow. I looked around at the office I sat in at the business I had built from nothing and thought about what I might do when it all crashed down around me. I had no idea.
********
Mac and I had lunch behind the closed doors of my office trying to strategize about what we would do now. The phones had not stopped ringing and angry clients had even begun to show up at the office. The press was running with it and as usual were making things worse.
“Have you talked to Alicia yet?” Mac asked me.
“No, but she is my next phone call. The police aren’t going to let me stall them much longer. They say now that they need to talk to her today.”
“What about the open cases? Will we have to tal
k with each judge independently to know how to proceed?”
“I’m afraid so,” I told him. “I have Nico and Kyla working on compiling a list right now. Once that is done, we’ll arrange a meeting that includes the clients, not just ours but in the civil cases, the other side, our attorneys, and the individual judges and in the criminal cases, of which we thankfully don’t have many, the district attorney will have to be invited.”
Marie stuck her head in the room. “Excuse me, Mr. Hanson, I have Ms. Winston on the line.”
I exchanged a look with Mac who took the hint and said, “I’ll meet up with you when that list is ready.” He left with Marie and she closed the door behind them.
“Hi, babe,” I said when I picked up the line.
“Hi, how’s it going with the police? Was anything taken?”
“I’m afraid so, Alicia. My office and yours were the only ones breached. They took all of our files.”
“Oh my God, Adam! We have all of that information on people who hired us and trusted us to keep issues private? Oh my God!”
“Calm down, sweetheart,” I told her. “I know it sounds really bad, but we’ll fix this, I promise.”
“Are the clients aware?”
“Yes, most of them have been notified. They have been calling or showing up all day. It’s like a three-ring circus around here. Alicia, I’m sorry, but the police need to speak to you, today.”
“Great, that will make my parents’ day,” she said with a sigh. “Adam, why are all of these things happening to us?”
“I don’t know, baby. But we’ll fix it, okay?” I knew it wasn’t much, but it was all I could think of to say right now.
I had thought a lot today about how I had struggled to get through law school on scholarships and student loans. I had worked twenty hours a day sometimes as an associate at the first law firm that hired me, until I finally made partner, and then when I had finally saved enough I had opened my own firm and brought Mac on as a partner.